ACS Middle School Matters: Middle School Matters: 2/14/14

Middle School Matters

February 14.
2014

General Announcements

Hot Lunch: Don't forget that hot lunch for March is due this Saturday the 15th. Also be sure to pay and submit your order.

Communication and Updating Grades: We are pleased to report that the indomitable Mr. Musch seems to have gotten to the bottom of the network difficulties we had been experiencing since late last week. The problems were the result of several factors, all of which were outside of our control. It was a puzzle that would cause most eyes to glaze over just thinking about it!

Some have expressed frustration with slow, late and sometimes nonexistent responses to emails and access to information. For this we are sorry and look forward to more normal communication going forward. Thank you for your patience and understanding!

Parent Teacher Conferences: We would love to see you at conferences this Thursday starting @ 4:30 in the commons.

Chapel: Former Detroit Lions' player, Tony Semple, revealed his heart for being centered on Christ today during Chapel. "Life is lived looking forward, but understood looking back," shared Mr. Semple. He asked students to examine their relationships with Christ and challenged them to keep Jesus on the throne of their lives.

Winter Olympics: Next week 5th-8th grade students will be participating in different "winter olympics sports" from 11:00 to 12:00 each day.

Snow Days: Because we have many more hours than what is required by state standards, we are not currently planning on "making up" any snow days for students in grades 1-8. To help with some of the time students have missed in class due to the unusual number of snow days, we reorganized our day on Feb. 13 and are:

meeting as a faculty on Feb. 24 as grade level and subject area teachers to map out the rest of the school year, prioritizing our learning goals and streamlining some of our activities.
going to monitor the number of additional snow days (if there are any) and address the issue again with our Education Committee if needed.

We remain committed to providing a high quality education to our students as we partner with you in Christian education.

Exploratories: Thanks to a lot of hard work, determination and cooperative faculty, parents and friends of ACS, we are pleased to announce that final details have fallen into place allowing us to reschedule Exploratories for our middle school students for the days of Feb. 25-28.

I think we can hear the cheers of our students now! This is four days in which our students are encouraged to try new things and spend time in multi-grade groups building new friendships. It has been a favorite experience for our students over the years that is at the center of many special middle school memories.

We had to modify a couple of our sectionals and will be communicating that with the students (and their parents) that it effects. Thankfully, we are able to offer almost all of our original sectionals and were able to add a couple great ones to replace the ones we could not.

CLICK HERE to sign up as a sectional assistant or driver.

Thank you for the great effort that was put into the rescheduling of this event.

6th Grade News

Art: 6b has a quiz on how to draw the human face next week Tuesday. Remember to study the green sheet. 6a students need to complete the watercolor video sheet by next weeks class so that they can start experimenting with watercolor. Please check moodle for homework.

Band: Next week all MS Band students will be playing a solo hymn tune (they have four to choose from).

The words to these hymns are rich and wonderful, and on the page with the music....have your student share the words with you too.

Bible: Friday Bible Memory, Exodus 20:1-6 (Commandments # 1-2) New unit starting on Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.

History: Looking at Ancient Egypt this week.

Language arts: We had an incredible World Fair work day on Thursday! The students researched countries, worked on Culture Poems, and learned a lot. A first draft (TYPED) of the Culture Poem is due for Monday. The students will NEED to do some work a home on this. Please ask your student about this. Ask to see the assignment description and rubric. On Monday a classmate will edit the poem. The final is due on Wednesday, February 19. Students will have an opportunity to continue to research on Wednesday and Thursday. All research must be completed by Monday, March 3---the Monday after Exploratories.

Math: Monday and Tuesday will be wrap-up and review days for Expressions. Wednesday we will test our skills - study guide and review resources coming home Monday. Thursday we will begin working with equations.

PE: This week we will continue to work thru our Hockey unit. We will be reviewing terms for floor hockey that students will need to know for their upcoming test.

Orchestra: Songs to focus on--Country wedding Dance-there are lots of slurs and we hope to play this at Dessert Theatre- this is an easy song for cellists but difficult for violins! Also learn Beauty and the Beast - choose the part that you can play the best and we will have a playing quiz this coming Thursday. Be sure to ask for help at lunch time if you need some extra help with notes or counting!

Science: We continue to study motion and refine our scientific writing skills. Students are doing top-notch work!

Spanish: Next week, 6th graders will create their self-portrait with four sentences describing themselves. We will work on these during one class period. If students need more time, they may finish at home; however, due to Exploratories the following week, I am asking that all portraits be turned in by Friday afternoon (6B will not meet due to Olympics, but they can still turn in their portraits any time that day.)

7th Grade News

Art: The 7th grade classes are all in different spots some students are painting their still lives, while others are working on drawing their birds. Please check the homework calendar for homework.

Band: Next week all MS Band students will be playing a solo hymn tune (they have four to choose from).

The words to these hymns are rich and wonderful, and on the page with the music....have your student share the words with you too.

Bible: VN: We are done with Habakkuk, Obadiah, Nahum, Jonah, Daniel, Isaiah...(just to name a few...) Soon we will be working on Ezekiel, Elijah, and Elisha and will talk about God's Providence. Final Bible Memory is Feb. 21.

Sanderson: Up next - a short study of Jewish Feasts and Festivals! Our last Bible memory quiz (students have selected verses along with a theme) will be on Thursday.

Wanner: All students have been assigned a king or queen of Israel or Judah and are now working on gathering information so that they can created a monologue of the assigned king or queen. Please keep a close eye on the homework calendar as a rough draft of the monologue is due on Tuesday.

History: This week we are beginning our study of Latin America. We will once again begin by looking at the geography of Latin America. We will be memorizing names and locations of countries and important landforms. We will be working on a couple of note sheets too.

Language arts: We began Paideia this week! On Thursday, 7th graders had a whopping 4 periods of their day devoted to research. Ask your child how their research is going, and please let me know right away if he/she is having difficulty find sources on their topic. I will be sending out much more information to parents over the next couple of days about the project, including a timeline with due dates and note-checks. For Monday, please see that your child has completed at least three full note sheets and has at least three sources. We will continue learning about writing a research paper next week, as well as continue reading Trouble by Gary Schmidt.

PE: This week we will continue to work thru our Hockey unit. We will be reviewing terms for floor hockey that students will need to know for their upcoming test.

Pre-Algebra (Sanderson): Students are working hard and are doing a good job using mathematical vocabulary ("Miss Sanderson, when I isolate my variable by dividing both sides by -3, I have to reverse the sign of my inequality, right?"). We will have a test on Ch. 1&2 (through section 2.5) on Tuesday, Feb. 18. Review assignments have been distributed on Friday and are posted on moodle.

Pre-Algebra (Kiser): Wow! Students have done an amazing job working with equations this week. Monday students will have a test on their incredible equation solving skills. Next, we will take our equation skills and put them to graph paper! Yep, we will be graphing equations.

Orchestra: Playing quiz on #312, 313, 314 and 315 this week! Great work on playing quiz from last week

Science:

8th Grade News

Dessert Theatre: We had a very productive day working on the musical yesterday! Your kids are fantastic!!! Many are doing very well with having songs and lines memorized, but please continue to encourage them in this area. The choruses for this operetta are especially important! Stay posted on rehearsals here: http://acsdesserttheatre.weebly.com/

Algebra: This coming TUESDAY we will be taking a quiz on Chapter 7. This quiz will focus on solving systems of equations. Students need to know how to solve these problems using graphing, substitution, and elimination methods.

Art: 8th grade students are working on completing their ceramic slab pots. Encourage students to discuss with you what they will be adding for texture or as a handle on their slab pot. Check the homework calendar for homework.

Band: Next week all MS Band students will be playing a solo hymn tune (they have four to choose from).

The words to these hymns are rich and wonderful, and on the page with the music....have your student share the words with you too.

Bible: Huttenga: We have just celebrated the birth of the church! However, persecution has begun. Next week, we will begin learning about the conversion of Saul.

Geometry: We have finished chapter 8 on area and tested on Feb 12-13. We have started to work with 3-dimensional figures in chapter 9. Please note that Mrs. Triezenberg will be at parent-teacher conferences on February 27th. Hope to see you then.

History: We are continuing to look at the developments and changes that were occurring in the United States before the Civil War.

Language arts: Next week, 8th graders will be introduced to the next chapter of their Book of Memories. We will have a test on The Giver on Wednesday. We will begin studying grammar next week as well.

PE: This week we will continue to work thru our Hockey unit. We will be reviewing terms for floor hockey that students will need to know for their upcoming test.

Orchestra: Focus on Sinfonia- notes, dynamics as well as tempo changes. Learn all details of E minor Concerto !!! Thanks for all of your hard work!

Spanish: 8A & 8B have a vocabulary QUIZ on Monday. Please note that they have a set of flashcards online, and this is their vocabulary list. Also, besides pictures and words on the flashcards, there is an AUDIO button (little speaker icon) they can click to hear the word pronounced. There are a couple games that can be played with the flashcards that are also very helpful study tools!

Athletics

You will find up to date game schedules, league standing for 7th and 8th grade, addresses for schools, the cancellation hotline, general announcements for athletics, and coming soon, sign-ups for spring sports on the Athletic Website. With this website our goal is for you to be able to find everything that you need to know about athletics at ACS, that will constantly be up to date. If you feel there is something missing please send me an email.

You can also reach this website by going to www.adachristian.org - clicking on activities - clicking on athletics - clicking on 5th-8th athletic page.

Athletic Forum:

Many thanks to the nearly 60 people who came to the athletic forum and gave input. We will be sifting through the comments over the next few weeks. When we come to some conclusions we will share our responses through the Wednesday Bulletin.

Middle School Swim Meet: Grades 6-8. Meet will take place on April 23 @ 6 pm. There will be about 4 practices prior to the meet. Practice times & dates TBD.

Other Athletic Announcements:

Backyard Dreams Baseball Club is looking for players this spring. If interested seewww.bydball.com

GRCS is offering lacrosse to students from all schools this spring. Girls lacrosse grades 4-8, boys lacrosse grades 3-8. If you are interested there are flyers located in the office.